Skyline
by Eggbert 3000
Summary: In which ANBU Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, Hinata, Sakura, Tenten, and Temari are hired to guard Hogwarts. Your typical Harry x Naruto crossover. ABANDONED..
1. Amassing the Forces

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Key: **"_talking_" Japanese (or emphasis, I hope you're smart enough to tell which)

**Pairings/Friendships: **Nejiten, SasuSaku, NaruHina, ShikaTema

**CH. 1 - Amassing the Forces**

**A NarutoHP Crossover**

** - in the Hokage's office**

It was a notably warm day with clear blue skies as far as the eye could see. Your typical summer day in Konoha, which was renowned for its favorable weather. On the packed dirt streets of the village you could hear the rising voices of academy students as they made their way to the first day of school. Yep, it was the beginning of another year.. another very _long_ year, unfortunately, for the eight ANBU that were gathered in Tsunade's office.

The two squads stood woodenly and at attention, with ramrod straight backs as they were briefed on their new long term mission. They were all wearing the standard issue ANBU (short for Assassination Squad, which was in turn short for something else) uniform; bone white sleeveless armor with black arm guards, black pants, and black combat shoes. The only thing that set each one apart, besides their physiques and hair styles, was the differentiating design and pattern of their special masks. Each one was different, representing a different animal; their codenames.

The first one had messy, spiky blond hair with a fox shaped mask. It was _obviously_ Uzumaki Naruto, but no Naruto anyone has seen before. This one was a proud 17 years old, and a captain class ANBU. He had grown out his hair so that it no longer stood stock straight, but drooped to the right. The color was also different; after years in the sun it had faded to a paler yellow. Naruto had grown up considerably these past few years.. he wasn't so stupid or nearly so obnoxious, but he remained the ever glowing ball of energy that light up the darkest rooms. That's why everyone was so fond of him.. his special, people gift.

The second one had jet black hair, spiked in the back to resemble, oddly, the butt of a duck. His mask was distinctly snake-like. Of course, his name was Uchiha Sasuke. He had returned to Konoha after oh so subtly killing off those old bat advisers that had doomed his brother. He was now a captain class ANBU. He had grown and was almost the same height as Naruto, though still shorter than his _offensive_ prodigy rival Neji. Sasuke had grown out his hair a little too, and he had accumulated enough length to put it up in a thin, short ponytail at the base of his neck.

The third had hair colored like dark chocolate, or black coffee. It was long and put in a low ponytail near the ends. Some of it had slipped from the rubber hairtie and hung near his cheeks. He had on a hawk or falcon shaped mask; no one really could tell.. I mean, his codename was Hawk, but those who knew Neji knew he was more like a regal falcon. Uh huh, this was _that_ Hyuuga Neji. Naruto had straightened him up at the Chuunin Exams, so he wasn't as pompous.. but hey, old habits die hard. Neji didn't look very different besides wearing a pearly bird shaped necklace wrapped around his wrist. Courtesy of Tenten via his 18th birthday. Well moving on, he was also a captain class ANBU.

The fourth and last captain class ANBU had black hair that was smoothed back into a spiky high ponytail. His posture was more relaxed than most, but not as casual as Naruto's. He wore a deer shaped mask, as a tribute to his Nara heritage. This man was Nara Shikamaru. He had risen the ranks of ANBU and had been nominated as ANBU commander at least twice for his genius and strategic reasoning. He had turned both times down, because he wasn't sure he was up to such a _troublesome_ position.

The fifth in line was a certain pink haired medic. She was wearing a different kind of uniform.. the white cloak that was the ANBU medic outfit. She had, certainly, personalized it with a red sash and pink flower patterns, but it was for the most part plain. Haruno Sakura wore a plain white mask with an indistinguishable animal shape, for there weren't any slug shaped masks. Thank the gods. She had also grown out her pink hair, now it had to be held up at all times in a short pink ponytail.

The sixth was by far, the leanest of the female ANBUs. She had her milk chocolate colored hair up in two low, messy buns. While she looked vaguely panda-ish with such a hairstyle, she was wearing a bird shaped mask. Her codename was Sparrow, for her plain brown coloring and also because she was a counterpart to Neji. The hawk and the sparrow. It was quite fitting. Tenten was absently twirling a dangerously sharp kunai, pondering all of the impossibilities on this current assignment. She herself had grown considerably strong, and had no rival in weapon mastery or accuracy.. in fact, she was the fastest female ANBU there was. I suppose you could put the blame on the illustrious Professor Gai and his mini-me Lee. Team Gai was still the undisputed strongest taijutsu team in Konoha history.

The seventh one had long, dark azure hair. It was straight and shiny, probably thanks to the highly guarded secret Hyuuga shampoo recipe. She stood straight and proud, a complete turn around from three years ago. Hyuuga Hinata had long since grown out of her clumsy, shy, stuttering stage. Sure, whenever she was around Naruto, she started stammering again and turning bright red... but really, you'd think she'd have stopped that already since they were dating. Hinata was now officially next in line to be the Hyuuga head, and Neji was so close to having his freedom. Not that he cared as much; he had Tenten. She was his freedom now. But anyway, the ever cute Hinata had just recently joined the ranks of ANBU, so she was dubbed the ANBU rookie and wore an owl mask.

The eighth one in line wasn't from Konoha, she was just there on diplomatic business.. but she had made a point of going with Shikamaru on this mission. No one dared refuse the fierce dirty blond from Suna. Sabaku no Temari had changed over the years, being 19 years old now, and had grown out her stiff hair. She managed to wrestle it into a short braid down the middle, and had several strands of rebellious dirty blond that framed her face. She wasn't one to be messed with easily, and she stared out determinedly behind the Raccoon mask.. in tribute to her brother the Kazekage Gaara.

Tsunade surveyed the eight ANBU in front of her with hard edged approval. "_We've already went over the specifics of this mission yesterday, correct?_" All of them nodded the affirmative.

"_Good. I appoint ANBU Fox as the captain of this mission_–" Naruto gave a childish whoop. "–_and Viper and Hawk as the co-captains. Deer, you will be the adviser._" Shikamaru gave a soft groan, even though he had been anticipating this.

"_Troublesome._" The trademark word left his lips.

Tsunade glared at him before continuing. "_Alright, here are your specifics again. You eight are to monitor and guard the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry against any threats, especially one student named Potter Harry. You are to keep the fact that you are ninjas to yourselves, and reveal little to no secrets or information on Konoha. Do not take off your masks unless it is an emergency. Also, Naruto... please do try to be discreet._" Naruto had the gall to act offended at that point, and Tsunade grumbled for more rice wine.

"_When do we leave_?" asked Neji, looking a bit peeved at the thought of being sent off to guard a bunch of little stick waving _sissies_. Tenten sniggered, but then stopped as Neji shot her a look beneath his mask, whistling a bit too innocently.

"_Oh_," Tsunade said, reaching into her desk and bringing out a very tattered old boot. "_I was told this would bring you there. All you have to do is touch it in.._" She glanced out the window at the sky. "_About one minute. You brats, I have two last things to say. One, this mission is unranked so be careful. Two, don't die on me!_"

All eight ANBU stiffened and saluted before reaching disgusted hands out to touch the boot. In that moment their worlds shifted and spun, whirling into a smudge of color as they felt a gut wrenching tug. After a few moments, they all landed on a soft grass hill.. surprisingly, on their feet. None of them were looking that green around the edges, after all it wasn't that much worse than the Transportation Jutsu... but nevertheless the feeling was something they didn't want to experience again. It was nighttime, and the European breeze drifted lazily over them, cool to the touch. All of a sudden, a wizened, jolly old voice broke the silence.

"Ah, right on time.. Let me say the code phrase. _A name we whisper to the dark, in the place of abandoned lives._"

The eight ANBU stared at the old man, taking in his ridiculous appearance. Sure they had seen examples of these wizard robes in the briefing but.. seeing them up close made the ninjas even more incredulous. How could anyone fight in those heavy, useless _dresses_? They took a moment to shake such unneeded opinions out of their heads and focused more on the old man's appearance. He was shriveled and wrinkled like a prune; very old and with a long fluffy white beard that trailed against the grassy floor. He gave the distinct impression of a hearty, fun loving leader but they all felt his power and cunning like a crisp winter morning. _Beneath the beneath _or _underneath the underneath_, as Kakashi always said_._

Finally, Naruto gathered himself enough to step forward and nod slightly. "Dumbledore, I take it? I will reply with our half of the code. _From our twisted boughs does death lie, and in our fiery earth our spirits sleep._"

"_Wow, Tsunade was feeling particularly poetic wasn't she?_"

"_Nah, she just wanted to seem mysterious._" Sakura rolled her eyes exasperatingly. "_Said something about leaving a good impression._" The rest of the ANBU coughed, slightly embarrassed.

Dumbledore gave a loud hoot, his eyes twinkling with merry lights. "I see you already feel comfortable here. Well let's not dawdle, the sorting is about to start.. I assume you all know English?"

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore," they all chorused.

"Good. One of you hold my hand, and the rest hold each other's hands so that everyone's connected."

"_In line_," drawled Shikamaru, and the eight ninja immediately situated themselves in descending rank order. Naruto first, then Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru, then Sakura, Temari, Tenten, and Hinata. All of them linked hands, and wondered what good this would do.. before experiencing another gut wrenching, tight squeezing, and highly uncomfortable "transportation jutsu".


	2. A Very Strange Beginning

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Key: **"_talking_" Japanese (or emphasis, I hope you're smart enough to tell which)

**Pairings/Friendships: **Nejiten, SasuSaku, NaruHina, ShikaTema

**A/N: **A big thank you to my two reviewers, haha. I appreciate it.

**CH.2 - A Very Strange Beginning**

**A NarutoHP Crossover**

**- at Hogwarts**

The Great Hall was heavily packed with warm, chattering bodies of the Hogwarts students ("_What kind of name is Hogwarts anyways?_" was Naruto's first reaction during the briefing) as they sat themselves at the house tables. Each table was long and made of dark, sturdy wood, with alternating banners of color waving imperiously from above. Red and gold for Gryffindor, yellow and black for Hufflepuff, silver and green for Slytherin ("_Sounds like your kind of house, Viper. What with all that slithering going on.._"), and gold and blue for Ravenclaw ("_I like ravens better than snakes,_" objected Viper, a little put out. "_They remind me of my brother._").

At the Gryffindor table, three particular students were observing the changes in the hall. Harry Potter, one of the students in question, was currently puzzling over the emptiness of the staff table.

"Where d'you think Dumbledore is?" he asked, glancing at his two best friends. "And what bout our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Hermione looked up, scanning the table before shrugging and screwing her face up in concentration as she pondered this. Apparently, she had no clue as well. And there was no point in asking Ron. At the moment, the flame haired Weasley was bemoaning the lateness of the feast and not really paying attention.

Suddenly, the magnificent oak doors of the Great Hall burst open with a loud and announcing rattle, and Dumbledore strolled in. He wore deep green velvet robes that were swirling behind him as he walked. His half moon spectacles were slightly askew, and his soft white beard gathered in a loose hair tie. The headmaster's footsteps echoed ominously in the silence of the Great Hall, and for all the intensity of his entrance.. Professor Dumbledore looked positively _gleeful_. Once he had passed, loud whispers and gasps of fright sprang up from the house tables.. for the students now got an eyeful of their headmaster's 'posse'. It was a group of eight men and women, all wearing strangely unwizard-like uniforms of bone white armor and black trousers. They all had on white masks of distinguishing shapes and varying colors; at first the masks had made them seem like Death Eaters. They were.. _frightening _to say the least_. _All eight walked silently and stealthily with great ease, their movement gave the impression that they were completely in control of every muscle in their bodies. They gave off a foreboding aura, feeling somehow dangerous and unsettling as they followed Dumbledore closely. Harry couldn't put his finger on _why_ they made him so uncomfortable.. but they did.

The eccentric headmaster quickly settled in his usual spot at the teacher's table, but remained standing. The eight simply walked to the front of the Great Hall and shuffled into a line that faced the students. They stood erect and unmoving, their postures suggesting something about their behaviors but otherwise remaining quite rigid.

"Ahh.." Dumbledore said, coughing for attention even though he already had most of it. "Welcome back to Hogwarts for another great year. Usually I give my speech after the feast, but this year will be slightly different than usual." His eyes twinkled for a moment. "As you can see."

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include over 437 items, if my memory serves. It can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office should anyone like to check it." He paused, a knowing smile turning the corners of his lips. "As always however, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"_What?_!" gasped Harry and several other students, of which George and Fred Weasley especially could be seen mouthing soundlessly, appalled, at Dumbledore. The eight ANBU looked on, vaguely amused ("_What the hell is Quidditch?_"). Hermione narrowed her eyes at the guards, as she caught the agitated whisper of the blonde one. What kind of language was that?

The headmaster had to hold back a hearty laugh before continuing, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy – but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts –"

_BANG! _The doors to the Great Hall opened once again, admitting into the midst of the students, as they all turned to face him, a cloaked stranger. He had long, grizzled, dark gray hair (somewhat resembling a mane) and a severely scarred face. It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces were supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Notably, a large chunk of the man's nose was missing.. but what was even more notable were his eyes. One was ordinary, but the other was abnormally large and vibrant blue, whirling erratically this way and that. Neji felt strangely on edge as he stared at the odd eye from behind his mask. The man clunked his way to the staff table, and Albus Dumbledore took his outstretched hand in a display of friendship. The man then moved to sit down at one of the empty seats at the table.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly (almost _too_ brightly) into the stunned quiet of the hall. "Professor Moody." The eight ANBU immediately pegged Moody as one that needed to be observed. He was different. He was purposeful, deliberate, not unlike the best undercover agents of their world. He was apparently on their side, but a little extra caution never hurt anyone.

Harry turned to his friends again and spoke to Ron. "_Mad-eye Moody_? The one that your dad..?"

"What happened to his _face_?" whispered Hermione, ever tactful. None of the two boys knew. The threes' attention snapped back to Dumbledore as the headmaster coughed once more.

"As I was saying, it is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year. Not many of you might know what that is.. so how about a short history lesson? The Triwizard tournament was first established a while ago as a friendly sort of competition between us Hogwarts, the Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. From each school, a champion was selected to compete against the others in three magical tasks. When the death toll mounted too high, the tournament was discontinued. There have been several attempts to reinstate the tournament, but none of them have been successful –" ("_Obviously._") "– however, the time has been deemed right for another attempt. We have worked hard to ensure that this time, no champion will find themselves in mortal danger. The Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegates will arrive sometime in October, and the champions will be chosen at Halloween by our very own impartial judge The Triwizard Cup. The prize will be eternal glory and a thousand galleons!"

The Great Hall exploded into frenzied conversations, proclamations, and exclamations as everyone discussed this latest turn of events. This year was definitely _not_ going to be boring in the least.

Dumbledore had to raise his voice to be heard over the hubbub. "I would like to announce, to many of your disappointment, that only those of age will be allowed to be nominated for consideration. This, we have decided, is a necessary precaution." Howls of outrage erupted. "I will be placing an age line around our impartial judge, so that no one tries sneak in their names. Please do not waste your time attempting it." The wizened old professor viewed his students with sparkling blue eyes, looking like he was enjoying himself immensely. The group at the Gryffindor table started whispering to each other furiously. A measly age line couldn't stop Fred and George Weasley!

"Ah, a few more things. As a result of this year's event, I have hired a few guards for Hogwarts." The talking quieted as the students realized they would be hearing about the eight masked people by the staff table. One of which, they guessed (since he had a mask on), was currently yawning. "These eight wonderful individuals are eastern wizards from Japan, and they are all very experienced and very dangerous. They are here for everyone's safety; do not provoke them or give them a reason to hurt you." The eight ANBU glanced at each other before nodding almost imperceptibly.

The tallest one, the one with faded and slightly spiky yellow hair, stepped up to be in front of the line. He scratched his head awkwardly before speaking. "Thank you for the introduction, Professor Dumbledore. We can handle it from here." His voice was slightly higher than one would expect and decidedly friendlier. "Well well well.. hello pipsqueaks. I mean, students. I am the captain of our little troupe. You may call me Captain Fox, or just Fox. I'll be guarding Gryffindor." He took a moment to wave at the Gryffindor table before stepping back and allowing his subordinates to introduce themselves.

"I'm the co-captain. Name's Viper. I'm assigned to Slytherin." said the next one, with the snake-like mask and spiky midnight black hair. Everyone in the hall visibly shivered at the cold, venomous quality of his voice. No _wonder_ he was going to be with Slytherin.

"I'm the other co-captain. I am called Hawk, and I'm guarding Ravenclaw." The second tallest one with the long coffee colored hair spoke after Viper, surprising almost all of the students. This one was a_ guy_? His voice was definitely the deepest so far, and held absolutely no emotion. Even so, he said everything in a way that clearly meant "I am not here because I want to be. Don't talk to me, I don't give a shit.". Once again, everybody shuddered. How could anyone sound so _blank_?

Fourth in line was the same guard that had been yawning earlier. He stretched lazily, slumping and forgoing good posture when it was his turn. His dull black hair was up in a spiky pony tail, and his deer mask was just a tad bit crooked. Probably because he was sleeping at some point. "Adviser Deer. I'm in charge of Ravenclaw as well. _So troublesome.._" The students looked questioningly at the guard, wondering what in the world he said at the end since they couldn't understand Japanese.

Finally, the first female guard spoke, her retina-burning shock of pink hair making her stand out from the other seven. "Hi!" she said excitedly, with much more emotion than the males. "I am the medic, Slug. I'll be hanging with the Hufflepuffs." A few of the Hufflepuffs waved, and Slug waved hesitantly back.

The female with the dirty blonde hair spoke up next, her harsh and commanding voice demanding no-nonsense from everyone present. "You may call me Raccoon, since its the closest thing to a Tanuki you Europeans have. I'm assigned to Slytherin with Viper." At this, she slammed the large black fan she had on her back into the floor with a loud _BAM!, _successfully startling a few people. Her message got across. _Do not mess with me._

The second to last guard had a strange hairdo. Her rich chocolate brown hair was pulled up into two twin buns.. resembling a panda's ears. She cheered when it came time for her turn, and pumped her fist unashamedly into the air before settling it on her hip. "Hey brats! I'm Sparrow. Assigned to Gryffindor with Foxy."

"Hey, it's Fox _not_ Foxy," Fox protested weakly. He was ignored.

The last female guard, whose hair was an envious shiny dark blue, giggled softly at her comrades' antics before bowing quickly. "I am Owl. Nice to meet you.. please treat me well," she said with a soothingly gentle voice. "I will be with the Hufflepuffs alongside Slug."

The students broke out into a scattered applause when she finished.

"I'm kind of glad we've got two of the more friendly ones," Ron said, eying his empty golden platter. Hermione snorted in exasperation as she scrutinized the eight guards. Eastern wizards? She'd never heard of wizarding communities in Japan..

While they were contemplating things about the guards and comparing them for kicks, the sorting for the year had begun.


	3. Start of a Routine

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Key: **"_talking_" Japanese (or emphasis, I hope you're smart enough to tell which)

**Pairings/Friendships: **Nejiten, SasuSaku, NaruHina, ShikaTema

**A/N: **Wow, 12 reviews. I never woulda thought. Thank you so much, you guys are amazingly good for the writer's soul. You asked for longer chapters, right? Here's my sad attempt.. it's not very long. Hahaha..

Oh, and, for all the expressions and stuff here.. The eight know each other well enough to be able to tell even under the masks. Plus it'd be kind of boring without them, no?

**CH. 3 – Start of a Routine**

**A NarutoHP Crossover**

**at Hogwarts ( Great Hall )**

As the feast came to an end, the eight ANBU (who had been standing near their respective tables) gathered quietly together for further briefings and orders. They formed a close knit circle, close enough to be touching each other as they leaned slightly in to hear their captain's words.

"_Alright.. interesting start to our job that was,_" Naruto said. You could feel him wiggling his eyebrows beneath the fox mask, much to the annoyance of almost everyone except Hinata. "_Okay, I lie. That was absolutely boring_ –" A few of them let loose some indiscernible grumbles and mutterings. "– _aside from that singing and talking mangy old hat. Them crazy Brits.. what the heck do they do in their free time? Oi! Hey! Hush! Shut up will you? Let me talk; Captain speaking. Anyways, tonight, be sure to follow your houses up to their dorms and instate your personal rules and what not. Keep on the lookout for troublemakers and shady fellows... oh, and set up a few detection traps_." Naruto paused, nodded to himself as he reviewed what he said, and then dismissed his team. The blonde motioned to Tenten before spinning on his heel to accompany the Gryffindors to their common room, the aforementioned energetic brunette walking briskly behind him.

The other six watched him leave with trace amounts of amusement and exasperation.

"_I just hope he doesn't get too impulsive.._" All of them agreed silently.

"_Yeah, because spending a whole year with these lunatics is gonna do wonders for him_." A unanimous rolling of eyes commenced.

**at Hogwarts ( Gryffindors )**

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and the Weasley Twins made their way through the magical Hogwarts castle to their common room, chattering about the Triwizard Tournament and not noticing they were being followed. Most of the conversation consisted of how unfair the age restriction was, but Naruto couldn't really be bothered to listen more closely. What harm could a bunch of sheltered kids do?

Once the group reached the portrait of the fat lady that guarded their common room entrance, Fred and George Weasley turned to each other, identical expressions of puzzlement on their equally identical faces.

"Hey, what was the password?"

"Some prefect downstairs told us."

"Yeah, it was some foreign word –"

"– Can't really remember what it was."

"_Rasengan._" A cool voice interrupted them, startling the students once again as they whipped around in shock, coming face to face with Fox. Had he always been there? Behind him stood Sparrow, the other Gryffindor guard, her head cocked in mild curiosity.

It took a few moments before Fred and George computed what he just said. "Ra..sen..gan?"

"Indeed," Fox said, sounding a little miffed with their pronunciation, before turning to the fat lady and repeating the password in its full, perfectly pronounced glory. The portrait swung forward to reveal a hole in the wall, large enough to be called a doorway, into which the students clambered. Fox walked in after them, glancing around him in mild approval. A crackling fire warmed the circular room, which was filled with very comfortable looking squashy armchairs and tables. It was rather pleasant for sleeping quarters; of course, he was used to camping outside on the hard ground or in the trees so he couldn't really have an appropriate opinion. The Gryffindors stared at him before turning to go up the stairs to their beds.. an action which reminded the guard of what he needed to do.

"Hey, wait!" He called, beckoning the students to come closer as they paused on the steps. "I've got something to tell you all before you hit the sack." Harry and his two friends settled nervously on a nearby couch while Fox turned to Sparrow, muttering something in a foreign language. The female huffed, apparently annoyed, before disappearing, much to the surprise and confusion of nearly everyone in the room.

"I thought you couldn't apparate in Hogwarts!" Ron hissed to Hermione, looking somewhat triumphant that the bushy haired girl had gotten something wrong.

Hermione frowned. "You _can't_!"

"Then what was that, huh?"

The offended girl was just about to open her mouth to retort when she was interrupted by Fox. This guy liked to interrupt people, didn't he?

"Uh, your attention please. I'd like to address a few new rules of mine that Dumbledore has allowed me to put into effect for the duration of my stay. In other words, all year." The masked man sat down on one of the tables, resting his elbows on his knees and looking relatively scary.. what with the shadows from the dancing flames enveloping most of his body in a shrouded darkness. "Rule #1. No sneaking out. I'll know if you do and you do _not_ want me or any one of us catching you. Especially Viper. I'll be picking pieces of you off the walls for days." Harry and Ron turned to each other in disbelief, both feeling very very afraid of the Slytherins' guard. Good thing they hadn't gotten _him.._

"Rule #2," Fox continued, ignoring the looks of panic and fear that flashed on the students' faces at the mention of his best friend. "Do not poke, pry, or otherwise annoy or disobey me and my subordinates. You'll get hurt. Rule #3. If you have any questions, concerns, suspicions, or problems, please direct them all to me. I happen to be one of the friendliest guards. Rule #4. There will be no fighting or feuding with other houses, or even within Gryffindor. That's just a load on my platter and a migraine in my head that I do _not_ need, not to mention a completely immature waste of time." The guard winced as he said this. Oh what a hypocrite he was being right now. The little wizards didn't know that so it was all good, but still... The guard plowed on. "Rule #5, my word is law. Professor Dumbledore has been nice enough to provide all of the guards with a few privileges, including point taking, detention giving, and generally making your school life a living hell."

The blonde paused a bit to let this all sink in. "Any questions? No? Alright, you can go to bed."

The night continued without any hitches as the Hogwarts trio departed for their rooms; the thought of sleeping the day off was incredibly appealing at the moment. There had been a lot of excitement.

After watching every single student make their way into their beds, Fox relaxed a bit. Sparrow had put up the detection traps while he was talking to the Gryffindors; he needn't check them, she was the best of the best at that sort of thing. So..

'_I guess I can call it a night,_' thought Naruto, wondering briefly how Sasuke decided to terrorize the Slytherins. Ah well, he'd find out tomorrow.

**at Hogwarts ( Morning Meeting )**

It was a relatively cold morning, with overcast skies and a general gloomy feel to it. No one else was up at this time of day.. or night, depending on how you looked at it. Of course, Shikamaru regarded moodily (as moodily as Shikamaru can get), this was precious morning time that could've been properly used as it was meant to be.. to sleep. Unfortunately, waking up at ungodly hours was something he had gotten used to as an ANBU ninja. However, that didn't mean he liked one bit of it. The ANBU adviser yawned silently, absently scratching his lower stomach and walking on the ceiling of the Great Hall towards the rest of his team.

His partner was already there because Neji, being Neji, had woken up at least two hours earlier to train in the forbidden forest with Tenten. Didn't he have a life?

"_Yo_," Shikamaru supplied, shifting his deer mask to more comfortably fit his face. He sat lazily down on the ceiling, looking like he'd rather be in bed. Well, he looked like that all the time so no one could really distinguish.

"_Deer, you're late_," said Neji, his pale white eyes narrowing fractionally beneath his own hawk mask. The pineapple head wondered briefly if he should use Kakashi's excuse.. but, he guessed that that one had been used a few too many times. He settled for a "_sorry.._"

"_Whatever_," Naruto waved dismissively, blatantly ignoring the Hyuuga's glare as it turned on him. "_Reports?_"

"_Hufflepuffs have been pretty kind and cooperative so far.. they even lent us a few pillows last night_," Sakura laughed, running her fingers through her hair. The action had become quite a habit since she cut it years ago. "_The detection traps were set up without difficulty and there were no attempts to sneak out._"

"_Any notable figures?_" the captain prompted.

"_No_," replied Hinata, shaking her head so that tresses of blue hair floated around her face before settling.

"_Alright. Ravenclaw?_"

Neji let out a controlled sigh, glancing at the Nara kid (who was asleep by now) somewhat exasperatingly. "_Deer made me do all the work while he knocked out immediately._"

The other six snickered. "_I wouldn't be surprised if he had a special jutsu for going to sleep like Gaara._"

Temari smacked Naruto upside the head. "_That's Lord Kazekage to you!_" The blonde merely flashed a feral grin at the Sand ninja, not at all apologetic.

"_Hn_." Neji wrinkled his nose in faint distaste. "_Everything went perfectly fine.. aside from that._" Shikamaru, although asleep, let out a soft snort that forced the female guards to dissolve into a fit of giggles. The long haired male closed his eyes for a moment, sending a prayer of patience to his father, before frowning. "_One notable. Lovegood, Luna. Airy white blonde. Distinctly unsettling, and strangely..._" He struggled for the word.

"_Brilliant?_" finished Tenten, nodding thoughtfully as he grunted his assent. "_Yeah, I met her with you. She sounded pretty loony at first_ –" Naruto muttered something that sounded oddly like '_those Brits_'. "– _but there's something about her that just puts you off. She sees things differently.. Actually, she's the only one so far besides Professor Dumbledore that strikes me as distinctly magical._" The guards were quiet for a moment, but that silent stillness was quickly broken by a gesture from Sasuke, who looked quite pleased with himself. You could almost feel the growing smirk on his face.

"_Okay okay, someone's excited,_" Naruto said, unable to resist grinning. "_What did you do to those poor little Slytherins?_" Temari let out a huff, more of exhaustion rather than irritation.

"_He scared them shitless_," she reported, sending a reproachful look to the Uchiha. "_Not that those spineless, crowing losers didn't deserve it.._"

Sakura perked up. "_What did they do?_"

Sasuke's lips curled into a menacing smile. "_Hn.. what was it? Asked me something about how pure my blood was.. mentioned a bit of family.._"

Naruto looked horrified. "_Tell me you didn't –_"

"_Please. That'd be a useless waste of eyesight.._" scoffed the raven haired guard. "_No.. I just let loose a bit of pent up killing intent. Nothing too big._" His eyes glinted maliciously at the recollection as he paused for a moment, obviously relishing the reactions he got. "_They weren't even worth lifting a finger._"

Temari rolled her eyes. "_Nothing too big. Sure. It's not like half of them fainted or pissed themselves._"

"_Bad mental image, no matter how satisfying it is to hear,_" said Naruto, gagging. "_Any notables?_"

Sasuke appeared to think for a moment. "_Ah.. Malfoy Draco and his subordinates. Apparently, they have it out for our charge_."

"_Nasty bunch_," said Sakura, an annoyed grimace gracing her features. "_Did you hear what he said about my hair?_"

"_Uh huh. That was a new one._"

"_Back on topic_," prompted Tenten, who was looking very tired and in need of a strong cup of tea. "_Those Gryffindors are gonna drive me completely insane. Do you know how many tried to sneak out last night? I barely got any sleep.. Fox'll have to put his ridiculous stamina to use pretty soon._"

The blonde pouted. "_Well once they learn about what happened to the Slytherins, maybe I won't need to resort to intimidation like Viper. Or stay up all night._"

Konoha's weapons mistress simply shrugged, stretching out her arms and flexing her fingers suggestively. Everyone paled except Neji, who was busy attempting to meditate. He cracked an eye open and surveyed the scene before him before admonishing lightly, "_Enough, Sparrow. The answer is simple. Seal the door or use a summon._"

"_Hawk.. but doing both would create questions. You know how curious kids are._"

"_Even I wasn't that bad when I was younger, right?_"

"_No, Naruto. You were worse._" The corner of Sasuke's lips quirked as the blonde became indignant.

"_Hey, what –!_"

"_Troublesome too._" They all turned incredulously to stare at Shikamaru, who looked like he was still napping. The brilliant strategist had his eyes closed, as if opening them was too much of a hassle if he was only going to shut them again. He was awake, however, which was saying something.

"_Oh. Finally decided to join the living?_"

"_Nah, I'm doing fine in Limbo, thanks._"

Naruto snorted at the humor. "_Fine fine, I got it. I'll talk to them more thoroughly. Give a few punishments. Happy?_"

"_Not really._"

"_Geez, quit being difficult!_"

"_You telling me to stop being difficult? Now that's a riot._"

"_Hmph!_" The ANBU team captain tossed his head and turned up his nose, finding obvious offense. "_Notables are Potter Harry, the Weasleys, Granger Hermione.. And Longbottom Neville._"

"_Longbottom, huh? That's the one whose parents.._"

"_Yeah. Everyone, treat him with the respect he deserves._" A murmured assent. "_Loyalty like a true ninja is something to be highly valued, especially in this society. Be nice to the Hufflepuffs, too. If I'm not mistaken, they are sorted for same traits._"

Shikamaru tactfully covered a particularly satisfying yawn before choosing to become more business-like. "_So our objective for today is to explore and gather information while attending the house classes. Pick a __schedule from one of the notables and alternate in shifts if there's only one."_

Naruto nodded in agreement. "_Okay,_ _dismissed._"

**at Hogwarts ( Gryffindors )**

A scrawny, black haired boy and his two best friends slowly made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, thoroughly discussing the guards and their oddities. Their red and gold attire marked them as Gryffindors, and the boy's lightning shaped scar marked him as the Boy Who Lived.

"Blimey mate, did you _see_ what happened to the people who tried to sneak out?"

"They were all piled in the corner like sacks.. Got the lights knocked out of them.."

Hermione sniffed. "It's because they didn't listen to those guards. Breaking the number one rule on the first night. _Honestly_."

The Golden Trio walked, distracted, into the Great Hall and at first didn't notice the strange whispers and the different behavior of the Slytherins. Usually the Slytherins were uptight and not as raucous as the Gryffindors, but this.. this was beyond weird. Every single one of them sat quietly and unmoving, only exchanging the barest of frightened glances. A few were shivering (most likely those that had gotten the full brunt of _his_ killing intent) and even Draco Malfoy was relatively subdued.

The Gryffindors exchanged glances. What in the world had happened?

Their questions were answered as the eight guards, walking together in a close knit group, strolled into the hall. Fox was talking amiably to Owl (who was acting like a shy little girl), Raccoon was badgering Deer (who was as usual, yawning), Sparrow was walking in companionable silence with Hawk, and (surprisingly) Slug was avidly discussing something with Viper. All of Slytherin stiffened visibly as the team split into pairs and walked toward their houses.

Lavender Brown became the threes' unknowing source of information as she chattered on about the latest gossip. "Have you heard? That snake-like guard completely terrorized the Slytherins last night!"

Parvarti Patil gave a soft gasp. "What?"

"Yeah! Apparently, it happened because they asked him some personal questions."

The other girl looked alarmed as Lavender continued with her story. Parvarti was pretty sure most of the Gryffindors were the nosy type. She was somewhat worried about her housemates. "All of a sudden the room went dark and a cold wind blew straight into their bodies, freezing them right down to the core.." Lavender paused for effect.

"And then?" ushered Patil.

"And then they suddenly found themselves imagining their deaths, over and over. Some of them swore they had been stabbed and killed, but they were never actually hurt physically."

"T-That's.." spluttered Parvarti, eyes widening in shock. "That's ridiculous! There's no way that actually happened.."

"But look at the way they're acting!" Lavender pointed towards the Slytherins. The two girls lapsed into an agitated silence as they grimly observed the obvious signs of oppression.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron felt a tingle go down their spines as they listened intently (no, it definitely wasn't called eavesdropping) to the ominous words that were being exchanged.

"Merlin" whispered Ron, his eyes wide. "Do you think it's true?"

The bushy haired girl frowned, "I overheard some Ravenclaw girls talking about this too. It's probably true, but very exaggerated.. and I don't know any spells that can do that.." She made a mental note to check it out in the library as soon as possible.

"Never mind that," said Harry hastily, feeling distinctly uncomfortable as the topic was raised. The Slytherin guard Viper reminded him of.. He changed the subject. "Look, new course schedules!" The three quickly bent their heads together, examining their classes as Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were discussing ways to trick the age line a few seats down.

"Today's not bad... outside all morning," said Ron, who was running his finger down the Monday column of his schedule. "Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures... damn it, we're still with the Slytherins." The flame haired Weasley shuddered. A class with Viper? Even less appealing than a class with those snobby losers (specifically, Draco Malfoy).

"Double Divination this afternoon," Harry groaned, looking down. Divination was his least favorite subject, apart from Potions. Professor Trelawny kept predicting Harry's death, which he found extremely annoying.

"You should have given it up like me, shouldn't you?" said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast and promptly forgetting about the previous topic. "Then you'd be doing something sensible like Arithmancy..."

**at Hogwarts ( Great Hall )**

Naruto was in a fix. He was incredibly bored and incredibly hungry.. Classes hadn't started yet and he was likely to get a stomach ache on all of the foreign food. He saw a few things he recognized, but nothing distinctly oriental.. He sighed, raising his eyes to the enchanted ceiling and wondering how these people managed to live without ramen. It would be impossible for him.

"_O Ramen God, please enlighten these Europeans with your delicious teachings and –_"

"_Seriously, Ramen God?_" said Sasuke, cocking his head to the side in a rather annoyingly superior way. "_It'd be more productive to pray to Teuchi._"

"_Aah, old man Teuchi!_" Naruto's eyes misted over as he recalled the heavenly ramen from Ichiraku and the friendly old man's signature response of "_sure thing!_" after an order.

The raven haired guard nearly rolled his eyes. "_Anyway, what are you doing? Aren't you gonna eat?_"

"_Well.. I don't want a stomach ache._"

An elegant eyebrow was raised under the mask. "_Since when did you take precautions?_"

"_Since the rotten milk episode._"

"_Oh, I remember that.._" Sasuke snickered at the memory. A few Gryffindors looked up in amazement, doubting their ears. Did he just_ laugh_?

A tap on the shoulder brought him back to the present. "_Sorry to interrupt your reminiscing, but I'm pretty sure this food is fine to eat. Our digestive systems will handle it._"

"_Slug,_" Sasuke acknowledged, eyes traveling almost fondly over his pink haired teammate.

"_That's great news, Slug_!" crowed the blonde, glancing at the food with unrestrained greed. "_Let's eat!_"

"_Yeah, it's a little heavier than what we're used to but other than that.._" The medic trailed off, grasping her hands behind her back. The mission captain made no move to answer. Not that he could, with all that food in this mouth..

"_Guys, we need to know whose schedules you're choosing,_" piped up Tenten as she emerged from behind Sakura, poking her head out. "_I've got Longbottom and Fox has got Potter._"

"_There's only one noticeable in Slytherin.. Raccoon and I both have Malfoy._"

"_We've decided on some guy named Diggory Cedric,_" said Sakura, motioning towards Hinata at the Hufflepuffs' table. "_Since there isn't really anyone.._"

"_I have Lovegood,_" a cool voice spoke. Neji appeared next to Tenten, looking extremely irritated (for Neji). "_Obviously, Deer isn't going to do anything besides nap._"

"_You know me so well._" The man in question suppressed another yawn, for fear his partner would opt to stuff a Gentle Fist down his throat.

"_Unfortunately," _came the snide response.


	4. Curious Sympathies

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Key: **"_talking_" Japanese (or emphasis or books/newspaper articles, I hope you're smart enough to tell which)

**Pairings/Friendships: **Nejiten, SasuSaku, NaruHina, ShikaTema

**A/N: **A whopping total of 21 reviews! Much thanks to my beloved repeat reviewers and everyone else who bothered. It means a lot to me.

**CH. 4 – Curious Sympathies**

**A NarutoHP Crossover**

**- at Hogwarts ( Classes )**

Harry had a jumble of things occupying his mind as he walked distractedly across the sodden vegetable patch in the back of the school. He didn't even register his arrival at Professor Sprout's greenhouse until Hermione and Ron, who were walking alongside him, came to a jarring halt. The herbologist's voice quickly snapped him out of his reverie; his head shot up, and his eyes landed on the ugliest plants he had ever seen. Indeed, they looked less like plants than thick, black, giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid.

"Bubotubers," explained Professor Sprout briskly, gesturing to the disgusting plants. "They need squeezing. You will collect the pus –"

"The _what?_" said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted. At the same time, another voice could be heard directly behind Harry, and the black haired boy whipped around in surprise. Standing a few paces away was Fox, and judging by the sound he was making (_"What the fu– pus?"_), he didn't much like the idea of bubotuber pus either. Not that he was the one that had to squeeze it out, of course.

"Pus, Finnigan, pus," continued Professor Sprout, "and it's extremely valuable, so don't waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bubotuber pus." (Fox nearly gagged, "_Does she have to say the word pus so many times?_")

But oh, oh _oh_! Harry realized something, disregarding the Herbology lecture, as his eyes swept around the rest of the greenhouse. If Fox was here, then where was Sparrow? After a few moments of searching, he found Sparrow standing a ways behind Professor Sprout, chatting idly with Slug and Owl. He glanced at his two friends and jerked his head in direction of the guards. "Why are they here in class? The Triwizard tourney doesn't even start until..."

Hermione only nodded sagely, grabbing a pair of dragon-hide gloves to get started on her bubotuber. "It's only natural," she said loftily. "They are, after all, from the far East. They might want to observe some of our classes and teaching methods, or learn some of our European customs."

"What are they, _diplomats?_"

"In a sense," she replied, her eyebrows furrowed as she squeezed the swellings on the bubotubers. Harry grunted in response, feeling oddly satisfied as he popped open the ugly plants. The pus ended up looking yellow greenish, very thick, and very smelly. Fox had something to say about that, since he had something to say about everything.

"_I think I'm gonna be sick,_" the blonde guard muttered, staring at the pus.

"_Geez, you simple minded idiot. You can handle blood and guts without batting an eyelash, but some magical goop makes you hurl?_"

Harry nearly jumped when a second voice joined Fox's behind him. He quickly looked up, and was amazed to see that the female guards were no longer behind Professor Sprout. When had they moved? He should've noticed... By the high-pitched and mischievous quality to the voice, he deduced it must've be Sparrow that had spoken.

He was right, he thought a trifle smugly, as he saw Slug talking avidly to the Head of Hufflepuff and Owl pointing shyly at a plant while exchanging quiet words with Neville. It had to be Sparrow behind him. Harry scrunched up his nose in a vain attempt to get rid of the pus' petrol smell from his nasal cavity, and right then and there decided to make it his project to be able to discern the different voices of the guards. So far, Fox was light hearted, airy, and laced with amusement, and Sparrow was playful, happy, and had an underlying flavor of mischief.

It would be just to pass the time, he justified. All in good fun and intrigue.

A booming bell echoed from the castle across the wet grounds, signaling the end of the lesson, and the class separated; the Hufflepuffs climbing the stone steps for Transfiguration, and the Gryffindors heading in the other direction, down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid's small wooden cabin, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Slug and Owl waved good-bye to Sparrow and to Fox, who simply lifted two fingers and made an informal salute motion.

Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand on the collar of his enormous black boarhound, Fang. At the sight of the dog, Fox exclaimed, "_Hey! That looks like one of Kakashi's ninja dog summons!_" and Sparrow elbowed him in the side. Harry tore his curious eyes off the two guards and focused his attention on the several open wooden crates on the ground by the Gamekeeper's feet. As the group drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached their ears, punctuated by what sounded like minor explosions.

"Mornin'!" Hagrid said, grinning at his three favorite students. "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, they won' want ter miss this special treat – Blast-Ended Skrewts!"

"Come again?" said Ron.

Hagrid pointed down into the crates.

"No, no," Ron shook his head. "Not that.. You said, _Slytherins?_" The red head squeaked out the last word, his face paling rapidly.

For a moment there, Harry wondered what made Ron so scared.. it was just Draco Malfoy and his groupies, right? But then realization hit him like a ton of bricks as his eyes wandered onto the golden haired guard, who was glancing gingerly into the boxes, and he felt himself shudder. He could he have forgotten..the Slytherin guard!

"What's wrong with the Slytherins?" asked Sparrow suddenly, appearing like a phantom to his right. Hermione started in shock at the female guard's arrival and accidentally stepped on Ron's foot as she tried to retreat a safe distance.

"They're a rotten bunch. All of them are snot nosed brats from pure blood families," said the bushy haired girl, sniffing in distaste while apologizing brusquely to the Weasley. "But that's not why Ron is scared. He's afraid of the Slytherin guard Viper."

"Viper?" questioned Sparrow, quirking an eyebrow under the mask. "I guess he's a bit standoffish, and sure he can be disagreeable... but he's not such a baddie underneath all those thorns."

"_Hmph._ Only you would say that," spoke the familiar cold, hard, and poisonous voice. The spiky, raven haired guard stood ominously next to Ron (probably on purpose), his eerie presence making Hermione's hair curl even more than was thought possible.

"Noo," sang Sparrow, flitting around Viper in order to see if she could spot Raccoon. "I bet all of us would say that. _We've gotten to know each other pretty well after all._"

The snake-like guard simply snorted, but Sparrow could tell that beneath his porcelain mask he had on a pleased expression. She smiled knowingly and turned to shoo away the Golden Trio.

"Go on, your class is starting!" she said sternly, and the three were only too glad to walk as far away from Viper as possible. Viper's voice was cold, sarcastic, and unsettling.. Harry thought briefly about it before scooting away with the rest of the class towards the wooden boxes.

The class ended up pretty much a disaster. Hagrid's Blast Ended Skrewts really did have a blasting end that exploded occasionally. They were like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish, and every now and then sparks would fly out of the ends of a skrewt, blasting them forward several inches. Having left the oppressive aura of Viper, the Slytherins started to return to their usual mouthy selves.

"What do they _do_?" Malfoy asked, staring disdainfully at the animals. "What is the _point_ of them?

Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds' pause, then he said roughly, "Tha's next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus' feeding 'em today..."

After a couple minutes of horrid development and revelations ("Ah, some of 'em have got stings," said Hagrid. "The females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies too... I think they may be ter suck blood."), the pale blonde decided to open his obnoxious trap once more.

"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," said Malfoy sarcastically. "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?"

"Those ones are the most useful," protested Fox from off to the side. He was talking about ninja summons, but no one really knew that. A few of the students just stared at him in confusion, semi-horrified looks on their faces before trusty Hermione broke in hurriedly at Hagrid's defense.

"Just because they're not very pretty, doesn't mean they're not useful," she snapped. "Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?"

"Dragons?" perked up Sparrow, who was swinging her legs, with a rather bored demeanor, while sitting on a tree branch near the Forbidden Forest. "What are you talking about? I _love_ dragons. Do you know, back at home they call me East's Steel Dragon? ...er, nevermind," she said, almost sheepishly, at the weird looks she was getting. "Forget I said anything."

Raccoon, who was standing off to the side engulfed in tree shadows, gave the twin bun brunette a disarming grin from beneath her mask. "_East's Steel Dragon? I could've sworn it was Konoha's Steel Dragon.. I simply cannot wait to tell Konoha that one of their top ANBU is defecting to this.. East._"

The chocolate brown haired female aimed a playful kick at Raccoon's dirty blonde head. "_Raccoon!_"

**- at Hogwarts ( Great Hall )**

An hour later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione trudged back up to the castle for lunch, discussing the Blast-Ended Skrewts.

"Well, at least they're small," said Ron, trying to be optimistic for once. It didn't really suit him.

"They are _now_," said Hermione in an exasperated voice, "but once Hagrid's found out what they eat, I expect they'll be six feet long."

When they reached the Great Hall, Hermione sat down immediately and began inhaling her food like a vacuum. She ate so fast that Harry and Ron gaped at her.

"Is.. is this some kind of new stand on elf rights?" asked Ron, watching with a sort of disgusted fascination as the food on her plate disappeared faster than you could say "_stupefy_". And he thought _he_ could eat fast. "You're going to make yourself puke instead?"

"No," said Hermione, with as much dignity as she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. "I just want to get to the library." To look up on elf rights throughout wizarding history was her main purpose, but she also wanted to do some research on the eastern wizarding nation..

"_What?_" Ron exclaimed in disbelief. "But we haven't even got homework yet!"

The bookworm just shrugged, shoveled down the rest of her food, and left as fast as she could in the direction of the library.

Meanwhile, across the room, a certain Haruno Sakura was watching Hermione Granger carefully.

**- at Hogwarts ( the Library )**

A certain, bushy haired brunette made her way, alarmingly fast, to the school's magical library. One would think, if one witnessed her determined flight, that it was because of some sort of emergency. Haruno Sakura, however, recognized it as eagerness.. for being a fellow bookworm, she could understand the urgency to satisfy a curiosity. The pink haired medic pursued the Gryffindor silently and quietly, like the elite ninja she was. All it took was utilizing the shadows of the castle corners and a bit of chakra at her feet, since the senses of a wizard were definitely not up to par to notice even the most elementary of ninja stalking techniques. Hell, _Konohamaru_ could sneak up on one of them... and by the gods was that saying something.

The ANBU female shook her head, trying to shake out her insulting thoughts. It was no good to be biased, she reprimanded herself firmly, before slipping noiselessly into the quiet confines of the Hogwarts Library. The brunette, whose name was Granger Hermione, began to search for books in the Foreign Relations section, at letter _E_.

In reality, it should have been Tenten that followed Hermione and monitored her, since Neville wasn't really a top priority. He was high up on the respect list, though.. but anyway, it was by some miscalculation that she (who coincidentally took an avid interest in her current target) shadowed this girl. Her team was under the impression that all three of the Golden Trio would stick together for the most part; well, except for the girls that knew about girly things, and Shikamaru, who was probably too lazy to point anything out. Obviously, the Weasley-Granger-Potter group (collectively and unofficially dubbed Team Harry) weren't as inseparable as originally thought.

But besides all of that, this girl was pretty interesting. Was she trying to get information on the guards? Sakura peered down from her perch on the ceiling, covertly hiding in the darkness of a cobwebby arch. There wouldn't be much information since there really wasn't much to the East in terms of wizarding, and there was simply no way the Hidden Villages would allow a leak.. but it was a good effort.

The medic watched as Hermione slid a particularly large and dusty volume off the shelf and opened it. The girl's slightly sun-kissed fingers tread lightly down the page, where she paused and read thoroughly a section that caught her eye.

Using her ultra special heightened ninja senses, Sakura squinted into the afternoon sunlight to catch a glimpse of the page's small scrawly print:

_**Eastern Wizarding Relations**_

_So far, there have been no recorded contacts with the wizards of the Eastern continent. We were not even sure of their existence until recently, having only heard ancient myths of Asian magic.. but a powerful barrier surrounding the East has confirmed it. We remain unsuccessful in penetrating it to explore further._

_The people of the East will quite possibly forever remain a mystery._

The pink haired ninja allowed herself a smile when Hermione let out a huff of indignation and irritation, closing the book almost grumpily. Suddenly and inexplicably, Sakura felt the urge to do something that Naruto would probably do... and Mistress Tsunade was not here. With that concrete reasoning, she gave in to indulging her bored self. She dropped to the floor without a noise and barely any movement, directly behind the Gryffindor. Leaning slightly forward, so her mouth was close to the brunette's ear, she spoke teasingly, "Didn't anyone tell you? Curiosity kills the cat."

With a strangled yelp, for even in her unconscious reflexive action she remembered her location, Hermione leapt a few feet into the air in shock. This reaction elicited a soft chuckle from the medic, who stepped back a bit, quirking another smile behind the mask.

"Of course," she said, unable to resist. "You are more of a mouse.. so in that sense, curiosity might be what finds you your food."

The Gryffindor merely opened and closed her mouth, apparently still recovering from the surprise.

"But just remember.. everything is good only in moderation," Sakura finished, a finger held to the area her lips should be, before fading away into the shadow of a nearby bookshelf.

**- at Hogwarts ( Classes )**

When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry and Ron set off for the North Tower where, at the top of a tightly spiraling staircase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trap-door in the ceiling, and the room where Professor Trelawney lived.

The familiar sweet perfume spreading from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder. Usually, all the curtains would be closed, but a single window had been opened, through which a faintly cool breeze rippled the red velveteen fabric. Next to the window, with his head practically hanging out, sat a rather dejected looking Fox. The blonde was currently mumbling complaints to Sparrow, who was shaking her head.

"_God this place is the dump_," the guard said contemptuously, trying in vain to clear out the sweet smell from his nostrils. "_I swear my sense of smell is permanently damaged._"

"_It's not that bad_," retorted the female. "_Please, think of Kiba!_"

"_He'd be complaining twice as bad as me!_"

"_No, I meant during the Chuunin Exam_," she said impatiently. "_Remember? When you –_"

Fox let out a barking laugh that resembled.. well, a fox's. "_Oh, that was a riot! When I farted in his face? God dammit, wish I coulda taken a picture of his expression._"

"_The Inuzuka bloodline limit is as much a hassle as it is an asset,_" commented Sparrow sympathetically.

"_Hey.. It just occurred to me that I'm on an unranked mission right now to a practically whole different world, sitting in a smelly old castle tower, and I'm talking about Kiba to pass the time. As if I didn't have enough of that mangy, rough housing mutt of an Inuzuka. Just the other day he was boasting about his sister becoming clan head.._"

Sparrow shrugged. "_It got you to quit complaining for a moment. And be glad he wasn't assigned on this mission, then._"

"_He almost was,_" said Fox dispassionately. "_Except for the #1 unspoken ANBU rule._"

"_What's that?_" asked the female ANBU, almost warily.

"_Only one mongrel per assignment._"

The two continued their conversation, albeit quietly so as not to disturb the class, as Harry and Ron walked through the mass of chintz chairs and poufs that cluttered the room and the others settled down. The two sat down at the same small circular table, and waited for the teacher to speak.

"Good day," said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump. Gosh, there was an awful lot of jumping today wasn't there?

A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear far too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Harry with the tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. The usual large amount of beads, chains, and bangles glittered upon her person in the combination of sunlight and firelight.

"You are preoccupied, my dear," she said mournfully to Harry. "My inner eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret that your worries are not baseless –" An audible snort from Fox could be heard, and Harry felt his cheeks burn. "– I see difficult times ahead for you, alas... most difficult.. I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass.. and perhaps sooner than you think.." ("_What a fraud_," commented Sparrow offhandedly. Fox readily agreed.)

Her voice dropped almost to a whisper, steadily ignoring the quiet interjections of the two guards. Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, who having composed himself, looked stonily back. Professor Trelawney swept past them and seated herself in a large winged armchair before the fire, facing the class.

"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars," she said... and so the lesson went on.

**- at Hogwarts ( Great Hall )**

"Miserable old bat," said Ron bitterly as he and Harry joined the dinner crowds that were descending the staircases back to the Great Hall. "That'll take all weekend that will..."

Hermione caught up with the two, her usual know-it-all air replaced with a slightly brooding one.

"You alright?" asked Harry, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yeah.." she said. "I've got something to tell you two, though –"

A loud voice rang out behind them, its tone mocking and derisive. "Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something.

"What?" said Ron shortly.

"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could her. "Listen to this!"

However, before he could begin to read the offensive article out loud, the paper was snatched delicately from his fingertips. The pale haired aristocrat boy whirled around angrily, his mouth poised to put whoever stole his scrap of entertainment from him. But he froze as he recognized the forbidding figure of Raccoon, one hand on her hip and the other grasping the newspaper.

She paused a moment to read over the article, her demeanor growing more and more disapproving as she reached the end of the page.

"Malfoy," she said in a commanding tone. "Rule #4."

"But –" He protested, hands itching towards the paper. The dirty blonde glanced coolly at him, promptly ripped the page to threads, and then said again, "Rule #4." This time, more harshly.

"There shall be no fighting or feuding with the other Houses, or even within our own house," recited Malfoy, defeated. "But this isn't a fight!"

"Your ill intent could very well provoke one," Raccoon replied indifferently. "Now leave peacefully and eat dinner." This comment she directed at all of them, and before any of them could move, she turned on her heel and walked briskly away. Malfoy, who had momentarily regained his pompous attitude, grabbed his wand out in a reckless rage and aimed a spell at her back.

"_Stupefy!_" he yelled, swishing his wand, and a red jet of magic shot out of the tip with a bang. The spell shot towards the guard, and before Harry could plunge his hand into his robes for his own wand, two extraordinary things happened.

One, the guard pivoted on the spot, reached out a fisted hand, and simply knocked the spell out of the air. Two, a loud roar of "_OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!_" echoed through the entrance hall. Harry spun around while Hermione gaped at the guard. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase, with his wand out and pointed at a pure white ferret (which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing). A terrified silence filled the entrance hall, and nobody but Moody and the guard moved a muscle. The grotesquely scarred DADA teacher turned to face the dirty blonde ANBU, and growled, "Did he get you?"

The female didn't respond, she was busy staring at the white ferret. Coincidentally, she had two things going on in her mind at the moment. One, her thoughts towards Malfoy's actions were a little like this; "_That mother fucking bitch _–" plus many more expletives. But on the other hand, two, he was now transfigured into a ferret. And ferrets were in the weasel family... and her summon was a weasel. She was a bit torn between her two emotions, before realizing that Malfoy was only a ferret temporarily. When he turned back.. She smacked her fists together in anticipation and the white animal on the floor let out a squeak.

"Leave it!" Moody shouted suddenly.

"What?" said Raccoon, clearly disgruntled by his loud overbearing voice.

"Him!" Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. Raccoon made a mental note; the rolling eye could see out the back of his head. The professor started to limp toward Malfoy's two cronies and the ferret squeaked even louder, streaking towards the dungeons (probably to the safety of the potions master Severus Snape).

"I don't think so!" roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again; it flew ten feet in the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," growled Moody, flicking his want to bounce the white animal once more. He was stopped when Raccoon appeared and plucked the ferret out of the air to save it from its second fall, motioning for him to stop.

"Enough," she said, holding the ferret by the scruff away from her as if it was a disease. "I thank you for your thoughtfulness Professor Moody, but I am perfectly capable of dishing out my own punishments."

The ex-Auror just stared at her, before coming to his senses and coughing lightly... only to be interrupted by a shocked voice coming from the marble staircase.

"Professor Moody!" said McGonagall, her eyes darting from him to the guard to the ferret. "What is going on?"

"Just teaching a bit of discipline," said Moody calmly, glancing at the ferret. Professor McGonagall froze as she realized the implications of what he said.

"Moody, is that a _student?_" she shrieked, dropping all of the books she had in her arms so that they spilled out haphazardly onto the stone floor.

"Yep," said Moody.

"_No!_" the deputy headmistress cried, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand to undo the transfiguration. With a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy appeared, still being held by the collar of his robes by Raccoon.. who didn't look in the least bothered by the new found weight of his human appearance. In fact, she hadn't even twitched. The boy's sleek blonde hair was now disheveled and all over his now brilliantly pink face. The female Slytherin guard dropped him without warning, and he smacked into the floor once more.

"We _never_ use transfiguration as a punishment!" said Professor McGonagall weakly. "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

"And you!" she rounded on the guard without thinking. "What were _you_ doing?"

"Saving him," responded Raccoon, brushing her fingers off on her black trouser pants. "Some what."

McGonagall visibly deflated and paled as she realized who she tried to reprimand. "Oh, my apologies then..." She recovered in a matter of milliseconds.

"But _you_, Moody! We give detentions, or speak to the offender's Head of House!"

"I think I'll do that then," said Moody, eying Malfoy before grabbing the boy's upper arm and marching off towards the dungeons.

The Transfiguration teacher stared anxiously after them for a few moments, then gathered her books and stepped into the Great Hall. Raccoon followed closely, and soon so did the rest of the audience.

"Don't talk to me," said Ron quietly to Harry and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later.

"Why not?" said Hermione, surprised.

"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever," said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing white ferret..."

Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began to dole out beef casserole for all of them.

"I wonder how that guard repelled that spell though," she said thoughtfully, looking contemplative. "And it was really good that Professor McGonagall stopped it –"

"Hermione!" said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again, "You're ruining the best moment of my life!" Hermione made an impatient noise.

Harry's eyes followed Raccoon for a moment as the guard spoke angrily (judging by her body language) to Viper, and it was with idle amusement that he saw the fearsome, raven haired Slytherin guard stride out of the Great Hall towards the dungeons.

The Boy Who Lived almost felt sorry for Malfoy, his sworn enemy. Keyword, _almost_.

* * *

Something random (not part of the story) I felt like writing..

**Ways to Love:**

_Harry sighed heavily and pushed the mound of schoolbooks he'd been studying from away from him. To his right, the warm crackling fire of the Gryffindor common room seemed almost cold.. He glanced, almost desperately, at the stoic guard sitting next to him, who was being absolutely silent and still. _

_And it was too quiet. Way too quiet. He had to do something to change that.. and given such a rare private chance, The Boy Who Lived couldn't resist asking Hawk a question that would probably be ignored anyway._

_ "Do you know.." he began awkwardly, suddenly feeling small and insignificant and a lot more nervous than before. "Do you know about love?"_

_ Something in the guard stirred, and Hawk slowly turned to face the young wizard. He had the man's attention._

_ "What is love like in your world?"_

_ "...Our world?"_

_ "I mean.. That's got to be something we have in common, right?"_

_ The reply was stiff, as if having something in common with him was insulting. "What makes you say that?"_

_ "I've been told that love is a universal language," said Harry firmly, staring at the long haired male. There was a lasting pause as the guard pondered the statement._

_ "Perhaps," Hawk allowed. "But in the end, we all speak different dialects."_


	5. A Different Reaction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Key: **"_talking_" Japanese (or emphasis or books/newspaper articles, I hope you're smart enough to tell which)

**Pairings/Friendships: **Nejiten, SasuSaku, NaruHina, ShikaTema

**A/N: **Yay 31 reviews. You guys are awesome. :D I don't particularly like this chapter, but it needed to be done.

**CH. 5 – A Different Reaction**

**A NarutoHP Crossover**

**- at Hogwarts ( Classes )**

The next two days passed without great incident, unless you counted Neville melting his sixth cauldron in Potions. Professor Snape, who seemed to have attained new levels of vindictiveness over the summer (as well as a lasting grudge for the combined forces of Moody and Viper against his favorite student Draco Malfoy), gave Neville detention. Neville returned from it in a state of nervous collapse, having been made to disembowel a barrel full of horned toads. He had said it wasn't all that bad, though, because apparently he was helped by a rather determined Sparrow (who finished the barrel in about three minutes flat).

"The guards are pretty nice," said the Longbottom timidly as he tried to learn the Scouring charm Hermione was teaching him to get rid of the frog guts under his nails. "They really look out for you."

"Mm," said Hermione absently. "But they treat you a lot nicer, don't you think?"

Neville looked at her incredulously. "Really? I haven't noticed.."

But now that she said it.. Harry thought about it for a moment. She was right. They did seem to have favorites.. or non favorites. This new thought brought a shudder tingling down his spine as he thought of Malfoy. Definitely a non favorite. (Viper had hung him from the Great Hall's ceiling with strangely shaped black knives the other day, as punishment for trying to hurt Raccoon.)

"You know why Snape's in such a foul mood, don't you?" said Ron to Harry apprehensively.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Moody and Viper. I reckon Snape's a bit scared of both of them, you know."

"Imagine if Moody turned Snape into a horned toad," said Ron, his eyes misting over, "and bounced him all around his dungeon..."

The Gryffindor fourth years were looking forward to Moody's first lesson so much that they arrived early on Thursday lunchtime and queued up outside his classroom before the bell had even rung. Fox was complaining about their punctuality ("_Why are they so darn eager for class? Less time for me to eat!_") Viper was late, Sparrow and Raccoon were hanging back and chatting.. so the only other person missing was Hermione, who turned up just in time for the lesson.

"Been in the –"

"Library." Harry finished her sentence for her. "C'mon, quick, or we won't get any decent seats." They hurried into three chairs right in front of the teacher's desk, took out their copies of _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection_, and waited, unusually quiet. With the exception of the guards, of course.

"_Wow, this takes me back_," said Fox, scratching his head. "_When Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru and I would skip Prof Iruka's lesson or sleep through it. What happened to all of that? Goody two shoes Gryffindors.._"

"_Tch, that's why you were dead-last,_" Viper scoffed, having finally arrived (off to the side, Malfoy cringed visibly). Fox made a rude gesture with his hands and Raccoon started to snicker.

"_Even Gaara wasn't dead-last_," she said, tossing a few stray strands of dirty blonde hair over her shoulder.

"_What?_" cried Fox, looking indignant. "_I bet he didn't even go to the academy! That's tyranny right there_ –"

Moody's distinctive clunking footsteps coming down the corridor stopped the blonde guard's tirade, and the ex-Auror entered the room, looking as strange and frightening as ever. The students could just see his clawed, wooden foot protruding from underneath his robes. His magical whirled crazily in place while his normal one glanced from his class to the guards.

"You can put those away," he growled, stumping over to his desk and sitting down, "those books. You won't need them."

They returned the books to their bags, Ron looking excited.

Moody took out a register, shook his long mane of grizzled gray hair out of his twisted and scarred face, and began to call out names. Sparrow looked mildly interested as she watched, with a sort of strange fascination, the actions of Moody's two different eyes. She'd heard from Raccoon that his magical eye had a similar ability to one of the Byakugan's.

"Right then," he said, when the last person had declared themselves present, "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures – you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks –" ("_What kind of name is that? Kinkypunks?_") "– grindylows, Kappas –" ("_Oh, I know what those are._") "– and werewolves, is that right?"

There was a general murmur of assent.

"But you're behind, very behind, on dealing with curses," said Moody. "So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other –" ("_Which is probably not much._") "– I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark –"

"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out.

Moody's magical eye spun around to stare at Ron; Ron looked extremely wary, but after a moment Moody smiled, and this first time Harry had seem him do so. The effect was to make his heavily scarred face look even more twisted and contorted than ever, but it was nevertheless good to know that he ever did anything as friendly as smile. ("_His smile's almost as scary as Prof Gai's.._") Ron looked deeply relieved.

"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?" Moody said. "Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago... Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledore... One year, and then back to my quiet retirement."

He gave a harsh laugh, and then clapped his gnarled hands together. "So, straight to it.. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves.. he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? –" ("_Instinct, intellect, prowess, and talent, of course._") "– A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. –" ("_Smartest damn words I've heard all day._") "– You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking."

Lavender jumped and blushed. She had been showing Parvarti her completed horoscope under the desk. Raccoon and Sparrow made mental notes to tell Neji; Moody's eye could not only see through the back of his head, but also through solid objects.

"_Looks like ol' Hawk's got competition_," said Fox, smiling.

"_No way_," rejected Sparrow vehemently. "_Moody can't see things two kilometers away! Hawk can. Plus Hawk can see chakra pathways and points!_"

"So.. do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?" Moody questioned, wisely ignoring the disrupting remarks from the guards. He couldn't even understand them anyway.

Several hands rose tentatively into the air, including Ron's and Hermione's, and the guards watched with growing interest.. mainly wondering what the worst crimes in this society were. Moody pointed at Ron.

"Er," said Ron tentatively, "my dad told me about one.. Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?"

"Ah yes," said Moody appreciatively. "Your father _would_ know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse." Viper noted that the scarred man seemed to speak with slight bitterness about the Imperius Curse. Perhaps he had been subjected to it at one point.

Moody got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders were scuttling around inside it. Harry felt Ron recoil slightly next to him; Ron hated spiders.

Moody reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders, and held it in the palm of his hand so that they could all see it. He then pointed his want at it and muttered, "_Imperio!_"

The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its eight hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance.

Everyone was laughing, everyone except Moody and the four guards, who looked on stonily.

"Think it's funny, do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

The laughter died away almost instantly.

"_Seems like a kind of puppeteering technique,_" commented Raccoon, thinking of her brother.

"_Or mind control._" drawled Viper, thinking of Ino.

"_Can you fight it?_" Fox wondered, thinking of Sakura.

"_Most likely,_" said Tenten, reassuringly. "_There's no such thing as a foolproof unbreakable jutsu. Plus wizards aren't that strong anyway._"

"Total control," said Moody quietly, but loud enough to be heard over the guards' whispers, as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats.."

Ron gave an involuntary shudder.

"_Good thing Shino isn't here_," said Fox, with a shuddering glance at the spider. "_He'd throw a tantrum._"

"Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse," said Moody, and Harry knew he was talking about the days in which Voldemort had been all-powerful. "Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will. ("_Nah, just __call on the Yamanaka clan. Their Bloodline Limit is handy._")

"The Imperius Curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. _CONSTANT VIGILANCE!_" he barked, and every student jumped.

Moody picked up the somersaulting spider and threw it back into the jar.

"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?"

Hermione's hand flew into the air again and so, to Harry's slight surprise, did Neville's. The only class in which Neville usually volunteered information was Herbology, which was easily his best subject. Neville looked surprised at his own daring.. and so did the guards. Oddly enough, they stopped chatting and gave the chubby boy their full attention as he did this. Harry wondered why.

"Yes?" said Moody, his magical eye rolling right over to fix on Neville.

"There's one... the Cruciatus Curse," said Neville in a small but distinct voice.

Moody was looking very intently at Neville, this time with both eyes. "Your name's Longbottom?"

Neville nodded nervously, but Moody made no further inquiries. Turning back to the class at large, he reached into the jar for the next spider and placed it upon the desk, where it remained motionless, apparently too scared to move.

"The Cruciatus Curse," said Moody. "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea." He pointed his wand at the spider and said, "_Engorgio!_" The spider swelled until it was larger than a tarantula, and Ron pushed his chair backwards in a vain attempt to get as far away as possible from the arachnid.

Moody raised his want again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered, "_Crucio!_"

At once, the spider's legs bent in upon its body; it rolled over and began to twitch horrible, rocking from side to side. No sound came from it, but Harry was sure that if it could have given voice, it would have been screaming. Moody did not remove his wand, and the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently.

"_Screw a tantrum,_" said Fox, watching the spectacle without batting an eye. "_He'd go utterly ballistic._"

"Stop it!" Hermione said shrilly. She was looking not at the spider, but at Neville, whose hands were clenched upon the desk in front of him, his knuckles white, his eyes wide and horrified. Sparrow had magically (forgive the horrible, unintentional pun) appeared by his side, and was laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Moody raised his wand. The spider's legs relaxed, but it continued to twitch. Viper noticed that the Professor had gotten a little too into the magical torture, and the raven haired man felt his distrust growing.

"_Reducio_," Moody muttered, and the spider shrank back to its proper size. He put it back into the jar.

"Pain," said Moody softly. "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse... That one was very popular once too."

"_But that's what makes it fun,_" cried Fox, outraged at the blasphemy of this clean, PG-13 version of torture. "_This is like.. totally censored!_"

Viper snorted in contempt. "_Torture can be mental pain too.. not just physical._"

"_Yeah, I'm sure you'd know, Viper._"

"Right.. anyone know any others?" Moody asked, a trifle gruffly. Hermione, who was staring weirdly at the blonde one, snapped back to attention. From the looks on everyone's faces, Harry guessed they were all wondering what was going to happen to the last spider. Hermione's hand shook slightly as, for the third time, she raised it into the air.

"Yes?" said Moody, looking at her.

"_Avada Kedavra,_" the bushy haired brunette whispered. The guards began to look interested again while several people looked uneasily around at her, including Ron.

"Ah," said Moody, another slight smile twisting his lopsided mouth. Again, Viper felt his distrust grow, because he could faintly tell that the smile was ironically genuine. This man had killed.. and enjoyed it. "Yes, the last and the worst. _Avada Kedavra_.. the Killing Curse."

The DADA professor put his hand into the glass jar, and almost as though it knew what was coming (Because of the slight killing intent, noted Viper), the third spider scuttled frantically around the bottom of the jar, trying to avoid Moody's fingers, but he trapped it, and placed it upon the desktop. It attempted to flee from its eminent fate, as Moody raised his wand for the last time, and Harry felt a sudden thrill of foreboding.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" Moody roared. There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast invisible something was soaring through the air. Simultaneously, the spider rolled over onto its backed, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. Several of the students stifled cries; Ron had thrown himself even more backward and almost toppled off his seat as the spider skidded toward him. Hermione, shocked, regained her senses and shot a curious glance towards the guards.

To her surprise, she could see that the guards were completely unfazed, and were still talking amiably.

"_That was pitiful,_" said Raccoon, an elegant eyebrow raised at the spider. "_Pansies._"

"_What you would give to be able to see a death like that instead of..._" Sparrow trailed off, amused.

But to her even greater surprise, Hermione could see the shoulders on the snake-like Slytherin guard shaking slightly. His whole body was convulsing in spasms as he held a hand to his mask, his other arm embracing himself in an act of comfort. The bushy haired girl felt a pang of remorse for the guard. Perhaps he wasn't so bad.. She elbowed Ron and Harry in the ribs and motioned toward Viper.

Harry directed his attention to the scariest guard on the team of eight, and he watched as Fox placed a hand on Viper's back and pushed him toward the exit. He had almost felt sorry for the guard too.. but when the raven haired man passed him closely, he could clearly hear a barely suppressed bout of laughter. The Boy Who Lived felt an ominous chill immediately cover his body in cold sweat. That guy.. he was _laughing!_ _Laughing! Why _was he laughing? Harry gripped the edge of his desk, and felt another chill go through him as Fox passed by soon after Viper.. he could hear the barest of light hearted snickers from the blonde Gryffindor guard ("_Nevermind ballistic, Shino'd go on a fucking rampage!_"), and in his mind he thought about how Fox had seemed much better than the others at first.. He wasn't quite so sure now.

"Hermione!" hissed Harry, his eyes still wide and his expression frozen. "He wasn't crying!"

"What?" asked Hermione, looking confused. "But he was.. and he was shaking too."

"No," said Harry, shaking his messy black head, his voice almost cracking. "He was_ laughing_."

And, as if right on cue, a explosion of ringing, hysterical laughter filled the room, echoing from the hall outside. It distinctly belonged to Viper, Harry discerned grimly. The only thing different about his voice than usual was that there was a slightly maniacal quality to it. And it was much louder.

The female guards attempted to face palm. "_That Viper.._"

"_You'd think the stoic prodigies would be able to control their emotions more._"

"_Damn right. But he's not the only one who thinks this Killing Curse is a funny joke._"

"_Wish Hawk was here though. He'd have a good hoot watching the spiders.. especially after Kidoumaru._"

"_Bet he's seen it though. Maybe Ravenclaw already had their class._"

"_Maybe._"

The two turned apologetically to Professor Moody, who was watching in mild bewilderment. "Sorry Professor. We'll tell our teammates to keep their emotions on a stronger hold next time. If you'll excuse us.." They promptly walked outside, closing the classroom doors shut quietly behind them, and the hair-raising laughter stopped abruptly. Hermione glanced from the doors to Harry, her eyes flashing with a combination of anger and fear.

"Those eastern wizards," she said, speaking furiously. "Have they no respect for the dead? Laughing like that at the Killing Curse.. how could they?"

"I dunno 'Mione," said Ron uneasily. "Maybe they're just not right in the head.."

"Whatever it is," Harry said finally, a determined blaze in his eyes. "I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

"No, you won't –" protested the red headed Weasley weakly.

"Yes, I will," Harry spoke firmly. "I'll ask them." The black haired 14 year old dropped deep into a contemplative unconsciousness, and only with a massive effort did he manage to pull himself back to the present to listen to Moody.

"Moving on... _Avada Kedavra_'s a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it. You could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed. Now, if there's no countercurse, why am I showing you? Because you've got to know. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he roared, and the whole class jumped again.

"Now.. those three curses are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban. That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills.. copy this down.."

They spent the rest of the lesson taking notes on each of the Unforgivable Curses. No one spoke until the bell rang, but when Moody had dismissed them and they had left the classroom, a torrent of talk burst forth. Most people were discussing the curses in awed voices or Viper's outburst in scared whispers. Like it was some kind of entertaining show. (Which, to the guards, it really was)

Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way in silence to the Great Hall after looking for Neville, who was already talking to Sparrow and Moody.

**- at Hogwarts ( Great Hall )**

Sasuke, having mostly composed himself after his shocking display of emotion, walked quickly towards the Great Hall. He still gave a soft haunting giggle every so often as he thought of the lesson again.. but other than that was more or less normal. Anyway, he had something important to bring up with Neji. The dark guard passed relatively unnoticed into the jovial hall until he heard his codename being called by someone, presumably a student. He didn't recognize the voice. He paused, his foot already raised for another step, before dropping it and turning grudgingly around.

Standing behind him, next to two other Gryffindor students, was Potter Harry. The boy's green eyes were staring defiantly at his porcelain mask.

"Viper!" he said, strolling closer and very nearly invading Sasuke's personal bubble.

"What?"

"I need to talk to you."

"I'm busy."

"How about later?"

"I'm busy."

"After dinner, in the Gryffindor common room. I'll be waiting."

The raven haired guard sighed audibly, massaging his temples in order to assuage his growing headache from.. well, growing. "I said, I'm busy. Why don't you talk to Fox?"

"I need to talk to both you _and_ Fox," the boy replied shakily, nearly loosing his sense of confidence.

Sasuke glanced at his captain. If Fox was involved, there was no way he'd get out of it. "Fine," he relented coldly, swiftly (and rudely) turning away and continuing to walk towards Neji. He stopped a few feet away from the Hyuuga, and waited for his teammate to talk to him. Said teammate finished eating before giving Sasuke his unnerving full attention.

"_What is it, Viper?_" asked Neji, his low voice sounding slightly annoyed. Usually, the two prodigies made it a point not to talk to each other. Two competitive geniuses could never get along very well.. and their personalities were like fire and ice. Sasuke was a passionate fiery rage and Neji was a frigid icy hatred. They worked well enough together, but not nearly as well as with their preferred teammates.

"_Hawk,_" said Sasuke curtly. "_I need you to do something for me._"

"_Is that so?_" The coffee brown haired man raised an elegant eyebrow.

"_Yes. We've all had our suspicions about Moody, right?_"

"_Right._"

"_Well during class today, his fixation with the curses proved highly worrying._"

"_Ah, I see. You want me to check him out,_" said Neji, immediately understanding Sasuke's intentions. The Ravenclaw guard paused for a moment, closing his eyes and gathering chakra around his eyes to invoke his bloodline limit. His fingers quickly formed the seals (faster than the eye could see), and he whispered, "_Byagukan!_"

Sasuke was mildly glad that he was spared the sight of Byakugan's telltale white eyes and protruding veins and arteries. Those looked scary even to the esteemed Uchiha. Meanwhile, the Hyuuga branch member swiveled his eyes around and managed to locate Moody's living quarters. It was mighty hard, considering that this place was full of magic.. everything practically glowed fluorescent yellow and it was difficult to see anything... but he did it. He narrowed his eyes and looked deeper into the room. It was filled with glasses and mirrors of seemingly no purpose (although they too, were magical), and a few flasks of strange liquid.. but what really caught Neji's eye was a large trunk with many locks on it. No matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't see into it. It was just too yellow, and too dense.

The bulging veins around his eyes receded as he shut off his eye technique and glanced back at Sasuke.

"_Nothing too out of the ordinary except for.._" he said slowly. "_A few bottles of a strange, unidentifiable liquid.. and a magical chest I can't see into._"

"_You can't see into?_" echoed the Slytherin guard.

"_Yes. The magic around it is too dense and layered._"

"_I see.. thanks._"

"_No problem. Also, Viper_," Neji halted Sasuke's retreat. "_Are you sure about this?_"

Sasuke turned slowly, staring over his shoulder. "_Yes. It's my turn this time._"

The Ravenclaw guard did not respond at first. "_You know the wizards dislike killing._"

"_Hmph,_" was the reply as the spiky haired guard walked away. "_I don't give a damn._"

"_...of course._"

**- at Hogwarts ( Gryffindors )**

Three figures huddled closely together near the blazing orange fire in the Gryffindor common room. They all looked distinctly frightened and nervous, however a determined air seemed to steel them towards the coming event... The meeting with Viper and Fox. At the reminder, the red headed boy gulped audibly.

"Hey.. when are they coming?" asked Ron Weasley, his voice unnaturally high pitched. Hermione brushed her bangs out of her face in exasperation before looking at Harry.

"Did they say a time?" she inquired, wrinkling her eyebrows. She would have thought they'd be the type to keep their appointments..

"No.." whispered Harry, mentally berating himself for not thinking ahead.

"Whaat? Well they'd better come soon. It's getting late and –!"

"And, _what_?" hissed a particularly venomous voice. The trio jumped in shock and quickly turned, dread collecting in the pits of their stomachs, to face the white mask of the snake-like Slytherin guard. Viper was sitting comfortably in a squishy couch on the opposite side of the room, with the almost feline Fox draped over the back. Judging from his body language (and his voice, thought Harry), Viper was not happy at all. In fact, he sounded incredibly peeved.

The raven haired man had his arms crossed and his feet planted rigidly on the carpeted floor. "And what?" he repeated, a half smirk on his face as he watched the Weasley's face pale. Oh, how he delighted in terrorizing pompous weaklings.

"A-ah, er.." spluttered Ron, glancing wildly and pleadingly at his friends for help. He didn't want to get on the terrifying guard's bad side like Malfoy.

"Thank you for coming," rescued Harry, laying a supportive yet sympathetic hand on his best mate's back. "I have to ask you two a question."

"A question?" spoke Fox, sounding at least partially cooperative. "If it was just a question, why'd ya have to go and call both of us for a late night meeting? Couldn't you have just asked us in the Great Hall?"

"No, it's.. it's not something we should talk about in public," said Harry awkwardly.

"What do you want?" asked Viper, his patience obviously already strained and his tone of voice saying something like 'This had better be good.. or else'.

Hermione huffed indignantly, but didn't say anything. These guards could learn some manners, she thought irritatedly. "We want to know why you laughed at the Killing Curse in DADA," the bushy haired girl snapped, folding her arms against her chest.

"Oh?" said Viper, his voice dropping a few degrees. "I wasn't aware that there was a rule against laughing."

"There isn't.. but why would you do that?" persisted Hermione, a disapproving frown plastered on her face.

"If there isn't a law, I see no reason to have to justify myself," was the cold answer.

"Bullshit!" Harry said angrily, thumping a hand against the wooden coffee table in front of him. Amazingly, he had lost his patience faster than Viper had. "Why would you laugh at death? Why would you mock the countless people that died to the Killing Curse?"

Beneath his mask, the dark haired guard's eyes flashed dangerously, and Fox shifted his gaze worriedly from the noisy boy to his best friend. "I laugh at death because I'm not afraid of it," he said, his words laced with infuriating superiority. "I mock your people because they are weak and sheltered. I mock your people because they're _pathetic._"

Harry felt his rage boil over at those spiteful words and he tried, unsuccessfully, to still his shaking hands. He was furious. "What gives you the right to say that?" he shouted. "My own parents gave their lives to stop Voldemort –" Hermione and Ron flinched at the name. "– they're heroes!"

"Yeah," said Viper, on the verge of laughing again, a sneering grin on alight on his handsome features. "They gave their lives.. handed them on a silver platter. Here Voldy, we're too weak to protect ourselves so you can just kill us if you want!" he mimicked shrilly.

"No they weren't!" Harry shouted again, standing up abruptly. "They fought against him! They stood up for what they believed in! They _fought!_"

"But where were your parents?" asked Viper, his voice venomous again.

"They're dead, you bastard, and you know it!"

"I didn't ask where they are right now, I asked where they were when they died."

"They were at home, they were –" Harry was cut off as Viper let out a snicker.

"That's right.. they were hiding. They weren't fighting, they were _hiding _in their house like the cowards they were!" said the raven haired man in a clearly triumphant tone, and Harry felt as if a stone had replaced the organs in his chest.

"No!" he protested, anger springing up inside of him again. He wouldn't let this guard win! "They were protecting me! They sacrificed themselves for me! You wouldn't understand what it's like to watch them die, you wouldn't understand what it's like to lose your parents –" He stopped, shivering uncontrollably as Viper's killing intent radiated throughout the room. The previously roaring fire was ominously doused and the resulting smoke filled the room with an acrid burning smell. The Slytherin guard was murderous.

"I wouldn't know?" he said, his voice shaking for the first time. Fox looked at him, alarmed. "_I _wouldn't know? No.. what do _you_ know? You sheltered little shit. You can't even remember what your parents' deaths looked like without help. You can't even remember what your parents' love felt like. _How can you miss what you never had in the first place_?" The blonde guard flinched at this, and Viper turned suddenly to face him, realizing what he just said.

"Sorry, Fox," he said automatically, and for once, genuinely. "I got carried away."

"It's fine," said Fox, smiling behind his painted mask.

"This conversation is over," the Slytherin guard said suddenly, as he directed his attention back to Harry, sweeping out of the common room door in one quick movement. The Gryffindor guard followed soon after, but he paused by the doorway and glanced at the still shell shocked Golden Trio.

Hermione recovered first (she was good at that), and stared at Fox, her expression undefinable. "What about Neville? Why are you so nice to him?" she braved.

"His family has gained our respect."

"Why – How?"

The golden haired guard seemed surprisingly serious and commanding for once. "That is his story to tell, when he feels ready." Fox moved one foot outside the door and paused again.

"Granger," he said quietly. The brunette locked her eyes on his figure, feeling apprehensive. "I want you to remember a few things. One, there is no true good or evil or wrong or right in war.. there is only _violence_. Two, you should not make hasty assumptions about us.. or anyone. _You're_ the ones that don't understand _us_. And three, last but not least, Sakura's warning was meant to be heeded."

And with that, the mysterious captain slipped out the door.

* * *

**A really short excerpt:**

It was a warm, humid, and muggy night. Naruto was on a mission to investigate the marshes near Kiri, because recently a lot of good ninja's had been disappearing there. Kind of like the Bermuda Triangle myth. He glanced tiredly at his team of ANBU, which included the ever annoying Kiba (codename, Dog) that always smelled like wet mutt, and the patient yet dangerously sharp Tenten (codename, on this mission, Dragon). The blonde captain felt a grin alight on his tanned features as he thought up a good way to pass the time. Good thing Neji wasn't here.

Naruto approached the brunette girl, who was busy oiling and sharpening her weapons and performing similar maintenance on her other equipment. He squatted innocently next to her.

"_What is it?_" she asked tersely, blowing her chocolate colored bangs out of her face.

"_Oh, nothing.. I was just curious about something,_" he said, mischief coating his delighted voice. Tenten glanced at him suspiciously.

"_Ask away._"

"_Between you and Neji, who wears the pants?_"

In retrospect, it was actually a bad thing Neji wasn't there, reflected Naruto as he scrambled around in an attempt to escape from Tenten.. at least he'd have the decency to try and stop her instead of laughing (ahem, howling) his ass off. Stupid Kiba. Stupid Akamaru. Stupid mission.


End file.
